My favorite DIY projects are those that incorporate natural materials or are upcycled in some way. This DIY clock has a little of both. A rustic tree slice makes up the base of the clock. And, the face of the clock is upcycled from an old CD. I was even able to upcycle a little more by using an old clock for my clock parts instead of buying a clock kit. Basically, this entire project could be free, depending on what you have.
Although making your own clock may sound intimidating, this particular project is actually a lot easier than what you would think. You don’t have to cut wood for your clock base or anything. So, wood working tools are not necessary.
Materials Needed For DIY Clock
- a round tree slice (you can find these at craft supply stores) a couple inches more in diameter than a CD – you can also cut your own if you have access to a tree trunk
- an old CD
- clock face printable
- clock kit or old clock that you can use the parts from
- E6000 craft glue
- Velcro
- Mod Podge decoupage
DIY Clock Instructions
For this clock, I used a CD and clock printable for the face of the clock. You don’t have to put on a traditional face if you don’t want to. Leave the wood slice plain or attach metal number decals either around the whole clock or in a few strategic places. You can also paint or stencil the numbers or even use Dominos or other game pieces.
How To Make A Rustic Style Clock
- Take Apart An Old Clock
If you are upcycling an old clock, then you need to take the mechanical parts out of it before you begin. Of course, if you are using a clock kit you can just skip this step. I was able to take apart an old clock with just a Phillips screw driver and a wrench.
- Make A Clock Face
I used a free printable for a CD clock face. The one I used is no longer available but I found another free printable that you can use from Print Free. Once I printed it off, I attached it to an old CD with decoupage. Then, I used an Exacto knife to cut a hole in the center of the paper through the hole of the CD.
- Reassemble The Clock Pieces
Attach all of the working clock pieces to the CD clock face. The mechanisms for the hands will fit nicely through the hole that is already in the CD. I ended up having to cut down the clock hands because they originally came from a larger clock. This was easy to do with tin snips.
- Attach The Clock Face To A Wooden Tree Slice
Attach the entire clock face, with mechanics attached, to a round tree slice. I simply attached the clock face with Velcro so that I could easily remove it to change out the battery. Line up the Velcro on the wood so that the clock face will be centered when attached. The clock face will set out from the tree slice a little. If you want the face to be flush with the wood, then cut out a notch in the wood with a router. This allows the battery pack to sit inside the wood. You will still use Velcro to attach the clock face inside the notched out part.
- Attach A Picture Hanger To The Back For Hanging
If you want to hang the clock on the wall, then attach a picture hanger to the back. You can also set this on a desk or table using a small easel.
If you are interested in making your own DIY clock, you can purchase a variety of clock kits from Amazon.
Love this! We have our Kitchen Fun and Crafty Friday Link Party going on now and would love for you to share this!
Very clever! But how did you cut the tree slice? We tried cutting smaller logs for our Christmas table, and found even they were too large to fit in our saw, chainsawing was difficult, but that’s what we did. How’d you’ do it? Little Bit from DecorateWithaLittleBit.com
That’s exactly what my husband did. He used his chain saw to cut several slices for me.
awesome! Thank you for linking up at Katherines Corner xo
Always happy to link up to your party 🙂
VERY cool Renee. I made a bunch of ornaments out using your CD tutorial but never thought to make an actual clock.
Thanks!
You’re welcome!